by Jaymin Eve
I saw the blur as her shadowed form fell away from the Walker, and scurried across the ground.
She’s clear, Delane said.
Great, time to focus on Que. Who was coming straight back at me, hands out. I could sense he was going to use his touch of death this time. An idea sprang into my head, and without considering all the consequences I severed the connection between the fourteen of us.
The howl of wind died away, the cyclonic circle disappeared, and the silence was almost deafening.
It stunned Que.
He halted his run and swiveled his head as if trying to figure out what he was missing.
I didn’t hesitate. I sent forth my tether, aiming to connect to the souls which Eva saw littering Que’s body. I willed it to connect. To find some way to tear the energy free and release it to the universe.
It was a great idea in theory.
But, as always, theory often did not translate to real life. My golden cord smashed against Brace’s father, and I could sense its will to connect, but there was nothing there to touch. Eva was right: it was like a sticky glue which left this cloying residue taste on my tongue and within the tether. I persisted for as long as I could, but the souls remained outside my grasp.
Que grinned. “Conduit power not everything they told you, little Doreen? Don’t worry; you won’t be around much longer to live with such a weakness.”
Holy eff, I’m in trouble.
I was just about to send my tether out to the girls again, hoping like hell I’d be fast enough to hold Que off when a shriek had my head spinning.
“Aribella!” Francesca burst into sight. “I had a vision,” she yelled again. Her white eyes and hair stood out dramatically against the blackness. “You must touch Que. Only your power can end this suffering.”
What was she talking about? I’d just tried to use my tethers to free the souls. Nothing had happened.
Que was moving again, but not toward me this time. Dodging around the sacred animals, he sprinted for my aunt.
“Brace!” I screamed as I scrambled to gain my footing and follow the evil Walker. “He’s going after Francesca.”
My aunt was so focused on getting her message to me that she never even saw him coming for her. Therefore she did nothing to protect herself before he was almost on her. In desperation I reached for a tether, using my aunt as the anchor to draw me. The world went dark for a second, and the yanking sensation thrust me forward. I ended up body-slamming Francesca, landing on top of her.
Her pupil-less and freaky-as-heck eyes locked on to mine. “Touch his hands, Aribella, it’s the only way. It’s the portal for his power, and you’ll free the souls.”
Her words were hurried, falling over each other.
I shook back strands of red that had fallen around my face. “He kills Walkers with his touch. I can’t … there has to be another way.”
“You hold original power. He won’t kill you. The energy will want to come to you. You’ll know what to do when you connect.”
Heavy hands landed on my back, and I was hoisted up and flung free of my aunt. Francesca held on to me for as long as possible, but we didn’t have the strength to stop Que. He tore us apart, and I ended up about fifty yards back. Dude had an arm on him. I landed heavily, ouch, just missing Brace, who had been sprinting across.
My mate never broke stride, reaching out a long arm and gathering me up off the ground. He tucked me under that same arm, and continued bulldozing toward his father. From my angle I couldn’t see my aunt. Que was crowding over her, but I could tell that he hadn’t attacked yet. We still had time to stop him.
We closed in. I was sort of running on my own, but Brace continued to help me. I’d hurt my leg when I hit the ground, but it was already healing.
In a flash my aunt’s face shifted around the side of Que. White hair was now visible and, as I met her gaze, I gave a small cry. It was hard to determine moods on her strange features, but I felt the sorrow which laced her expression.
What was she doing?
“What are you doing?” I screamed, my throat burning. “Run! Get away from him.”
She didn’t move. Que towered over her, both shouting and waving his hands in wild arcs.
“Tell me what you saw,” he hollered.
He was making demands, using his height to intimidate her, but he wasn’t touching her yet. So why the hell was she standing still?
“She’s sacrificing herself,” I heard Brace mutter.
His pace increased.
I was still sort of swishing my legs trying to keep up, but he pretty much carried me along.
“What do you mean?” I demanded, but there was no time for him to reply.
As we reached Que, Brace let me go. I jogged for a few moments to keep my footing. My mate continued on, reaching forward to launch at his father.
Of course, Francesca didn’t give him that chance. She gave me one last sad smile and with a war cry of sorts stepped right into Que.
The Walker looked surprised and I was shocked to see him attempt to get away from her, as if he was afraid to touch the soothsayer.
With another guttural whoop Francesca kicked Brace’s father straight in the jewels, no hesitation, and full swing of leg. As the Walker doubled over, she said something and I was almost close enough to hear it.
It sounded a lot like: “Let’s see how you like the voices.”
Then with a great heave of breath she took his hands.
Chapter 16
I must have screamed. I couldn’t actually recall opening my mouth, but eventually my ears caught up and I realized that more than one shriek had erupted from me. As Francesca’s slender form went still, another sound joined in with my cries. It was the sound of a wounded animal. The unusual ‘yelp’ jolted me and I managed to gain a sliver of composure. It took me another moment to rein in some of my horror and attempt to wet my dry lips with a flick of my tongue. It didn’t work. Moisture seemed to have fled my mouth.
The yelp sounded again; I swiveled my head to see which of the sacred animals had been injured, but Que distracted me before I could. The Walker stumbled back, thrusting my aunt away and dropping to his knees.
It was then I realized that the yelping cries – which I’d mistakenly thought were coming from one of our guides – were coming from Que. His voice rose above all the other noises to echo his agony across the land. What had Francesca done to him?
I skidded down beside my aunt.
Brace was with me, although he remained standing guard, looming over the top of us. He must have been worried Que would come at me from behind while I was distracted. Brace was beyond tense, features hard as his gaze locked in on his father.
My focus was on Francesca. I wrapped her up in my free arm and gently lifted her slight form toward me. When had she become so frail? There was no fat on her body, just skin coating bone. She was a faded version of the bossy soothsayer who had first told me of my quest and ordered me around. I held my breath as I turned her over, shifting white hair off her features. Her pale face was the last thing to come into view.
A sob caught in my throat. Translucent skin surrounded by masses of white hair. Eyes were open and lifeless. The usual stark white of her iris and pupil looked almost blue. She was gone, her shell empty of energy. Just like a candle that had had its wick severed and was now nothing more than a lump of wax. Her light had finally gone out.
My fists tightened in the spare material of her flowing white shirt, floods of anger and sorrow zipping through every part of me and into my heart. I might not have loved Francesca the way I loved my mother, but it still felt personal. I still mourned her death.
And I knew Lallielle would be devastated.
“Oh, Frannie.”
The sad voice lifted my face.
Josian was there, shaking his head. The true tragedy here was that Francesca’s soul was now trapped in Que, and he would be able to access her power.
My tears which had been hovering abated as pure,
white-hot anger blasted through me. My body hardened, and the softer emotions were shoved down into a spot that I’d have to come back to later.
I gave Francesca one last hug before gently releasing her to the ground and pulling myself up. Josian reached out and took my hand, squeezing it before he leaned down and scooped up the white-shrouded soothsayer.
He would take her back to Lallielle. I wouldn’t be there to hear the cries of my mother, but I knew Josian would look after her. He would comfort her. My job was to deal with the murderous asshole before me.
Que was still kneeling. His mournful yelping cries were less vocal, but I could still hear them. His eyes were closed and I wondered what was happening behind them. The only reason Francesca would have sacrificed herself was if she thought this would turn the tide of the fight. So what had she done to him?
The half-Walker females gathered closer. Our sacred animals stood on the periphery, all of them continuing to fight against the Seventines’ army. Making sure this spot was kept clear of all battle. I heard the yells as Samuel and Quarn attempted to curtail the curious onlookers from our own army. But I did not focus on any of that.
“The souls are angry,” Eva said. Her solemn expression zoomed in on Que. “They want to be freed. You have to release them, Abby.”
Her lashes fluttered down then, hiding her golden-brown eyes from view, as if she could no longer stand to see the trapped souls. Her face remained downcast, and I knew that not being able to help the souls which called to her was devastating.
I wasn’t sure I would be able to do any more than she had, but I hadn’t forgotten what Francesca had said. After everything that had happened, her kidnapping, torture and then being forced into that energy room in the dark mountains, she’d finally had another vision. The last one she ever would. My gut was telling me to trust her words, even though my mind was screaming out at the insanity of touching Que. The dude was poison. He killed with his mere presence.
I won’t let you do this, Red. Brace rarely gave me orders, or ultimatums.
For an alpha male, he was surprisingly cool with letting me be a bit alpha too. But this time I could hear the absolute ‘no’ in his voice. He would not be moved.
I didn’t argue with him. I simply cleared my mind of all thought and before he even had a chance to recognize the determined glint which had surely entered my eye, I traced.
Right into Que.
I knocked the kneeling, whimpering male down. The bastard still had his eyes closed, but as we tumbled down together the lids shot up and I was the one to almost scream now.
His eyes were white. Just like Francesca’s had been.
What the … Somehow, upon taking her soul, he’d stolen her gift. A gift he was never supposed to have access to. I understood now the yelping cries. He was experiencing the craziness of her visions and, since he wasn’t equipped to deal with them, he could not control the power, and it was screwing with him.
I gathered every bit of bravery I had inside, and tried to force myself to grab Que’s hands. I had to do this. I trusted Francesca’s vision – and we had to not only stop Que and free the souls. But I also needed the original energy he contained. It could spell the difference between success and failure.
I couldn’t make my arms move.
Brace didn’t want me to do this, and we were a team. I shouldn’t have made the decision without him. But if I couldn’t free the souls and take back the rest of the original energy from Que then we would all die.
Everything was moving in slow motion; Brace was above me, reaching down to pull me away from Que. I had to make the decision now.
Of course, in the end, the decision wasn’t mine to make.
Que gave a strangled cry, and before I could react he latched onto my hands.
“I just need it to stop,” he said.
Then my world went dark and hazy.
There was enough conscious thought in my body to know I was dying, but not enough to do anything to stop it. I felt the pull from Que; he was stealing my life-force. I knew I should care about that … definitely something … I should … care … about. I drifted in a nice haze for a few moments. A voice reminded me that since I had so much more power than most Walkers, it was taking him longer to kill me.
That was nice.
Fight, Abby. Damn you; fight him.
Words sort of flowed around me. I was familiar with the concept of speaking but couldn’t quite remember how to do it. Fight? Against what? This was relaxing; there were no worries here. No end-of-the-world responsibilities. I was eighteen … or nineteen, whatever. Too young for this crap.
Abigail Swish, I will come in there and kick you fair in the butt if you don’t pull yourself together. You cannot die. I won’t allow it.
This time it was a tinkle-like voice, high-pitched and annoying.
A chord struck deep in my chest, like the rumble of the deepest note. A sliver of sense returned to me. That voice was one I had loved as long as I’d been alive. It was my best friend, a pesky green pixie, and I knew she really would kick my ass.
Red … baby. You aren’t allowed to leave us. We haven’t had the happily ever after yet.
I loved that husky voice too. Brace.
Holy hell – Brace and Lucy. I remembered.
Together my mate and my best friend did what no one else could have: they woke me up. My anger was also awoken, and suddenly I remembered why I had to fight.
I flung out my tether, my conduit power flaring to life, as I prepared to take back what was mine. All of my stolen energy. And once I was done with that, I was taking back the original power which Que had filtered out of the universe and forced into his body.
My well inside swelled as surges of pure energy reversed their path and started flooding back into me. I was strong and I was pissed off. Never a good combination.
Que tried to fight against me, but the conduit was infinitely stronger than he was.
Finally, when my body thrummed with all of my returned power, I searched for the originals’ essences. It was everywhere inside Que, intertwined into his very cells.
No problem.
Without pause, I stripped every iota of the original power. Piece by piece I pulled it into my body. I was born of original power, and it wanted to come home to me. The level of energy was intense, but when my power well filled I just stored the original essence in my filing cabinet, switching out original energy with whatever had been in there before.
Que continued to fight. He threw himself backwards in an attempt to dislodge our hands, but unlike him, I didn’t need to touch. My tether was the one connected, and no one could sever that except me. And I would not stop until everything was stripped from him.
As more of the original power left Que, the bionic arm and leg fell away. He ended up on his back like a turtle.
Who’s weak now, asshole?
He never begged or said anything, even when he knew that there was no way for him to fight me.
When I felt Que’s energy dip to a dangerous level, I attempted to sever the tether, but it was too late. The original energy did not belong with Que, and there was no stopping its return to me.
Finally, there was nothing of the originals left inside Que and my filing cabinet was full.
“The souls, Abby!” Eva’s demand reminded me that I wasn’t quite finished.
I was still tethered to Que and could sense the souls trapped just above his skin – he wore them like a freaking coat. There were so many of them and some were very old; they’d been trapped on this piece of crap for many years.
Que had been secretly taking souls from the inhabitants of the seven worlds for a lot longer than anyone knew. It had only been when he’d moved on to absorbing Walker souls that our clans had paid attention. Of course, by that time Que had amassed a lot of personal power through the trapped souls. Now it was time for me to send them home, back to their gods, and on to be reborn.
I tore at the invisible energy shield holding them captiv
e. This was the sticky glue substance which had stopped my tether from connecting earlier. Not this time, though; Que was too weak. I shredded through it with ease, before the warmth of the multitude of life-forces brushed past me.
There were so many of them. As they rose and their joy flowed free, warm tears slid down my cheeks. One after another, falling for each soul. I wasn’t the only one. Eva was a hot mess on the ground, her hands reaching toward the little essences which called and spoke to her.
‘You did good, Abby,’ she mouthed at me, and I gave her a jerky nod.
We had done good, but as much as this felt like an achievement, we still had to face the Seventine. And I had no idea how we could possibly beat them. Beating Que had taken everything, and in the end it was just a lucky series of events that had given us victory. Without … without Francesca’s sacrifice, we would have failed.
As the last of the souls rose in a chorus of light and heat, I sent a silent prayer of goodbye to my aunt and released my tether. It returned to me, to again rest within my mind.
Que collapsed on the ground. His chest rose once and then twice, before stilling completely.
Brace didn’t even glance at his father. Instead he gathered me up off the ground and hauled me closer. He buried his face in my hair and I could feel the slight tremble of his arms as he pulled me even tighter. He was breathing deeply, not speaking, and I couldn’t sense anything in his mind. It was locked down in a red-hot burning cage.
Whatever predator lived inside the Walkers was consuming him. I felt a bucket-load of sorrow to think I’d almost broken this male. He hated it when he couldn’t protect me.
“Brace, man, you might want to ease up. I’m not sure Abbs has been able to breathe for the last few moments.”
Colton’s voice was light, but there was a flick of steel in the tone. He knew what Brace was capable of when he lost control, the special ability he contained which could turn him into a cyclone.
Brace still wasn’t saying anything, but his hold on me loosened ever so slightly. It was enough that I could turn my head to the side. I found Lucy fluttering there.